


Fortress

by Aloysius



Category: Homestuck
Genre: BUT IM NOT SORRY, Gen, this is very silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-15
Updated: 2013-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 10:05:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloysius/pseuds/Aloysius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A shortage on the veil leads to Rose's knitting going into overdrive, and even more strange is that it leads to a friendship of kinds between Dave and Karkat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fortress

**Author's Note:**

> Based on http://davekatwhisperer.tumblr.com/post/34908016691

There was a small emergency on the veil, in that the recuperacoons were gone and the sopor had run out.  
Karkat was primarily concerned with Gamzee, but he seemed to have a good stock of pies and didn't seem too worried so they instead focused on finding a solution.  
Piles of things were their first port of call. Karkat, usually a private troll, built them pretty much everywhere he went. He was frustrating to watch, plucking pillows and blankets and cushions and stuffed toys and whatever else soft he could find in his sylladex and usually other people's and piled them up in the middle of a room, throwing himself in the middle and squirming and shifting trying to get comfortable, then screeching and standing up to rip the pile to shreds and scatter it around the room. He'd stare at the mess for a minute and mutter incomprehensibly before picking everything up and starting again. He'd do it over and over before eventually rampaging around the room, pulling at his hair and kicking things out of the way before huddling in the corner. He didn't sleep often.  
Before, when he staggered out of his block in the evening when Dave came round to bother him, he was still dripping green slime everywhere with a placid smile on his face and half lidded eyes. Now the dark circles under his eyes were more prominent and his eyes unfocused as he swatted everyone away irritably. Even Dave didn't have the heart to wind him up.  
Rose eventually came up with the solution. Seeing them lurking in the middle of their piles she realised trolls naturally slept cocooned by something, but needed something more stable. It took her a few weeks but she eventually managed to knit them all hammocks. Then she got carried away and suddenly was surrounded by blankets and dragons and crabs and bees and all manner of things. Terezi was overjoyed. She declared a sleepover and they all set up in the computer lab with the hammocks strung every which way and Terezi cackling in her dragon outfit.  
Karkat politely declined. He found his own little secret room on the other side of the veil where the heating device was, and he hung his hammock between two of the boilers. Dave tried to persuade him to come join them, but when he finally found where he'd hidden away he was fast asleep with the blanket pulled up to his chin and knitted crabs tumbling out of the sides and a surprisingly content look on his face.  
Dave still liked to drop by to harass Karkat in the evenings.  
He kicked the door open and felt the warm air rush out to meet him. Karkat peeked his head out from under the blankets and frowned.  
"No no no."  
"I-"  
"No."  
"Kitten-"  
"Fuck no."  
He crossed his arms and tried to look menacing, but it was nearly impossible while cocooned in a hammock with a knitted crab sitting on the top of his head. He didn't seem to notice the crab.  
Dave held his hands up in quiet defeat and took a seat on the floor with his back against the boilers.  
"I just-"  
"Strider"  
"-came-"  
"Stop talking now"  
"-to-"  
"There are still words coming out of your mouth."  
"-hang out." He finished.  
Karkat sat forward and the crab tumbled from his mess of hair. He flung it at Dave half-heartedly.  
"You never just want to 'hang out'. You haven't 'hung out' with me since you got here."  
"Actually I came for a well mannered discussion with your fine self." He sat up straighter and adopted what he hoped was a serious expression.  
Karkat raised an eyebrow and shifted so he was lying on his side. "About?"  
"Well. Uh. Movies? And... Rapping?"  
Karkat snorted. "Rapping. Right. I should have known." He rolled his eyes.  
"No seriously. I guess this is becoming a feels jam. I can't believe I am saying this, take a deep breath now prepare yourself, savour this moment. Karkat Vantas, I need your advice."  
Karkat lifted his head off his pillow to give Dave an incredulous look, his lips slowly quirking up into a grin. "Alright. Shoot."  
"Okay. Sure. Right." Dave's hands drifted to his cape and he played with the edge. "I just... I mean i'm just..."  
"Having trouble expressing yourself?" Karkat offered, dangling a crab by its claws and making it dance around.  
"Yeah. That. I mean it's been two and a half years since we left that sweet ass ball of rock and shit we called home and I've spent most of that on a lump of rock that is definitely not home. Nothing's the same anymore and everything's changed. Like if we were still home, what would've happened?" He threw his hands up in the air with the question. "I just feel...past it? Like everything's moved on and I'm still stuck not going anywhere. This is the end of the line, you have arrived at your destination, please take your luggage from the overhead compartment on your way out, welcome to the worst days of your life, population you."  
"I didn't understand most of that." Karkat sat up and crossed his legs. "But I bet you're not as past it as you think." He shrugged.  
"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that, O great leader?"  
"Well, it's not like you haven't been doing anything is it? Rap about everything you've done. Jesus I don't know rap about LOHAC or something. Why does it have to be about earth stuff?" He threw is hands in the air in frustration. "Why don't you just try or something?"  
Dave sat and considered his point. Earth was home. He had nothing left of it and he needed to hold onto it. Maybe he couldn't rap anymore because he couldn't remember. But on the other hand...  
"Okay sure, I'll give it a shot."  
"Great." Karkat almost seemed to chirp, making the crab dance again. "But don't do it now."  
"You got a problem with my beats there princess?"  
"Yup." He flung the crab and it hit him in the face with a soft thwap.  
"Well I suppose that's fair enough since I have more than a few problems with your shitty leadership skills."  
Karkat flinched.  
"I mean," Dave continued as if he hadn't noticed he'd overstepped the mark "what kind of crappy leader can't pick a good movie?"  
Karkat raised an eyebrow distastefully. "You got a fucking problem with Bridget Jones."  
"Yup." He mimicked Karkat's answer, a wide grin on his face.  
"Philistine." Karkat glowered. "I clearly need to educate you in the fucking fine art of cinema."  
"I need you to shut up."  
"I'd like to see you make me!" Karkat sang mockingly.  
"I'll tip you right the fuck out of your snuggly little hammock nest thing there Kitten."  
"Wow fuck that." He snorted.  
Dave stood and started towards the hammock, but Karkat reached out and grabbed Dave's wrist, dragging him forward into the hammock as he jumped out. He picked up such momentum that the hammock spun wildly with Dave sprawled across it, and flipped right over causing Dave to smash face first into the floor.  
Karkat looked at his now twisted hammock in disdain and glanced at Dave. He growled and turned to crawl up the wall and onto the ceiling, right over Dave's head - who was standing up uncertainly and looking around in veiled confusion - and eventually settled in the corner on the other side of the room, looking down at Dave.  
Dave almost laughed. He looked ridiculous crouched in the corner wearing nothing but a too big shirt and his boxers, bare feet clutching at the wall to keep his balance while he hissed viciously.  
"Calm down kitten, it's just a hammock." He held his hands up and smirked.  
"Wow no fuck you right in the ass Strider."  
"We can do that later if you come down." Karkat began hissing louder, baring his fangs, and Dave rifled through his sylladex until he plucked out a spray bottle. He spritzed Karkat in the face and for a moment the troll quietened, face contorted in rage and surprise. He gave up with hissing and the usual stream of abuse started spewing violently from his mouth, volume and pitch rising the more he went on. Dave sprayed him again.  
"Come down."  
"Fuck no." He spat, glowering. A drop of water rolled down his nose and dripped to the floor.  
"Come on." He sprayed again several times until Karkat's hair was thoroughly wet. "Bad kitty."  
"Excuse the fuck out of you?!"  
"Come on kitty. Here puss puss puss." He lifted the bottle again and Karkat growled.  
"Put that thing the fuck down." He hissed.  
"Only if you promise to come down."  
"Maybe."  
"Oh come on kitten. Look, I'll bring you some warm milk and fix your hammock. Scouts honour."  
Karkat scrunched his face up. "What's a scout?"  
"It's a - never mind. Just come here. Look look I'm fixing your little crab nest."  
He moved over and untangled the hammock, picking up all the knitted crabs and arranging them on Karkat's pillow. There was a soft thunk behind him as Karkat dropped to the floor and he drifted over, crawling into it and dropping face first into the crabs. Dave picked the blanket up and tucked it around him, patting him on the back. Karkat made a quiet content noise and pulled the blanket tighter around him.  
"Hey, uh," Dave rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly. "Thanks for listening and stuff I guess."  
"Yeah whatever." Karkat mumbled as Dave turned to leave. He got to the door before Karkat's voice drifted out from his knitted cocoon.  
"Hey Strider." Dave paused. "You better be getting my warm milk you ass."


End file.
